DCRepublican.com

Tue 1 Apr 2008

Not only is today April Fool’s day, but it is also Election Day in Wisconsin for a variety of state-seats, but there is one race in particular that has drawn national attention and become quite ugly.

The race drawing so much attention is for an open seat on the State Supreme Court, which in Wisconsin is a term that lasts 10 years, and if you do your job right, you’ll go down in history.

For the most part, state-based races in Wisconsin don’t usually get national attention, however due to how early these elections are, the Supreme Court races almost always generate national buzz, simply because there are so many interest groups trying to ensure that the “right” candidate gets elected.

Here is a bit more on this race from CNN.com:

Justice Louis Butler — already on the high court after being appointed to fill a vacancy — and Burnett County Circuit Judge Michael Gableman have traded partisan attacks, helped by hundreds of broadcast ads aired across the state, most funded by a host of independent advocacy groups.

“What’s remarkable about this race is how dominant the outside groups have been,” said J.R. Ross, editor at WisPolitics.com. “They’ve outspent the candidates themselves 10-to-1 on TV ads. They’re essentially drowning out the messages of Butler and Gableman.”

Ross said latest estimates show more than $3 million spent just on TV ads in the state’s top three media markets: Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay.

It’s sad that I don’t see $3,000,000 as a lot of money anymore in terms of spending on campaigns. It’s also very unfortunate that it costs that much money to sling mud these days.

The stakes in Wisconsin and nationwide are high, and are fueling renewed calls for reform on how judges are selected. The 19 states that held state Supreme Court elections last year shattered previous campaign cycle spending records — $34.4 million in all — which have increased steadily in the past decade.

The idea of judges running for elected office may seem like a strange concept, but it is the law in 21 states that have some sort of contested system for top judges. Thirty states — along with the federal system — appoint their judges, often under a merit selection system in which the governor gets the final say.

It’s very interesting, having elected judges, especially to the State Supreme Court. I’m conflicted as to whether or not I think this is a good idea or not, but it seems to work in Wisconsin.

I would bet a large amount of money that if you polled those voting today and asked them what the role of the State Supreme Court was, I’m sure many of them would get it wrong. I’m guessing even with all the spending, turnout will be relatively low. I’ll be curious to see the breakdown of dollars spent per voter once the dust settles.

However, with all this spending, both Gableman and Butler are guaranteed to have temporary rock-start status in the weeks following the election.

Here are a list of Wisconsin bloggers who have done a great job covering this race and have many more details on what is at stake and why Wisconsin needs Gableman on the high Court:

Election Watch Wisconsin

Dan Suhr @ GOP3